EVENING Advertiser film writer STEPHEN WEBB reviews the youngsters' films . . .

Headlands School - this secondary school near Penhill put together a remarkable think piece which they titled What If . . . It was basically about teenagers' hopes, fears and dreams and was skillfully bound together with narration and poetry.

Using future careers as its basis, the students managed to incorporate deeper thoughts and concerns. The techniques they used were innovative, with strong use of close-ups and an "in your face" pop music soundtrack which complemented the on-screen activity perfectly.

Adver rating: 8 out of 10

Mountford Manor School - this is a fairly straightforward documentary about the children themselves, combining interviews with the pupils with fun animation sequences using modelling clay.

The youngsters were asked what they like about school, what worries them, what they like about their families, and what they want to do when they leave school.

This lot certainly love their families, and they also like school and Swindon a lot.

Simple, honest, and occasionally very funny (although I am a bit worried about the girl who claims she has 500 spiders).

Adver rating: 8 out of 10

Churchfields School - Soft Self Portraits was the title of this unusual production. It is simply a montage of digitial portraits of the students which had been transferred onto computer, with the young film-makers then letting rip and having fun.

In its own way, this told us as much about their personalities as if they had been talking about themselves to camera.

Short and sweet.

Adver rating: 7 out of 10

Brimble Hill School - this is a film that left you with a warm glow, simply because of the cheerfulness of its participants.

The children introduced themselves through song and words and we watched them at play.

There were lots of appealing, smiling faces on view and the children's plain happiness was a delight.

Adver rating: 8 out of 10

Goddard Park School - very similar to the Mountford Manor project, with a direct interview format, and animation cut into the shot for added effect.

Anyone concerned about the future of this country and the attitudes of children and young people should watch this film. This is a concerned, intelligent bunch of youngsters whose main concern about Swindon is the amount of rubbish and graffiti in the town although one girl did express her fears about being hit on the head with a hockey stick.

A word about the interviewer, whose direct technique and unwillingness to accept one-word answers should be studied by so-called professionals on the telly.

Adver rating: 8 out of 10

Sevenfields School - this was the only non-documentary entry in this mini-film festival. Another Day is a drama telling the story of Curtis, a lonely boy desperately trying to fit into the routine of school life but whose struggle to make friends leads to him playing truant.

The film featured an extraordinarily sensitive performance from the young lead actor, although the rest of the cast clearly took this project very seriously and worked hard on their acting.

A lot of effort was put into the script, the setting up of the shots and the editing, making this a very slick production all round.

Adver rating: 9 out of 10